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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/09/1986 Meeting (2) e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall April 9, 1986 12:45 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Debra Ehrman, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten (12:45 p.m.-l :00 p.m.), Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Roger Rutan (12:45 p.m.-l:28 p.m.), Jeff Miller. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Richard Hansen. The adjourned meeting of March 19, 1986, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. ITEMS FOR MAJOR, COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER, APPOINTMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS A. National Dance Week Councilor Wooten said the Eugene Ballet Company and other local dance com- panies will celebrate National Dance Week the last week in April. She suggested the staff draft a letter for the Mayor's signature which will recognize the celebration. The other councilors agreed with her request. B. Report on Fortified Wines Ms. Wooten said she had requested a report about the Portland City Council's action which banned fortified wines in certain areas of the city and the results of the action. She would like the report as soon as possible. C. Report on Changes at the Jail Councilor Ehrman asked the staff to prepare a report about the ramifications of the changes in the administration of the Lane County Jail. D. Report on Community Help for Law Enforcement Agencies Councilor Miller asked the staff to prepare a report about the possibility of asking college students and senior citizens to be community helpers in the downtown mall, City parks, and the University area where there is harassment and crime in the summer. He said such citizens can help law enforcement agencies by notifying them of specific needs. He said such programs have worked well with a very low budget in other communities. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 9, 1986 Page 1 e E. Arbor Day Celebration Councilor Bascom said Mayor Obie has officiated at ceremonies to plant trees and wildflower seeds recently. She reminded the other councilors of the ceremony to celebrate Arbor Day at the Blue Heron Bike Bridge immediately after the council meeting. F. Senior Nutrition Program Councilor Schue said low-cost meals for senior citizens are now provided by the lane County Senior Nutrition Program at Olive Plaza and the Salvation Army Headquarters. She said the program will probably be reduced because of the lost of Federal funds. She suggested the councilors consider contributing to the program to recognize senior citizens. She asked the staff to prepare a report about the balance in the Boxing Fund. G. American Planning Association Award to University of Oregon Bureau of Governmental Research and Services Councilor Holmer said the American Planning Association presented an award to the University of Oregon Bureau of Governmental Research and Services for the quality of its training program in land use. H. Mayor's Appointments to the "Future of the library" Committee (memo distributed) e Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to ratify the following appointments made by Mayor Obie to the Future of the library corrmittee: e Debra Ehrman, 1571 lawrence..................Chairperson (representing the City Council) Jim Saul, 2780 Elinor........................Vice Chairperson (representing the Chamber of Commerce) Julie Aspinwall-lamberts, 1286 Piper lane (representing the Downtown Commission) Sam Frear, 4734 Brookwood (representing Friends of the library) John Ball (representing the lane County Commissioners) Pat McDaniels, 2365 West 23rd (representing the league of Women Voters) Charles Stephens, 360 East 48th (representing the library Board of Directors) Dewey Ramlo, 3445 Bardell (representing the library Foundation) Eleanor Mulder, 2775 Emerald (representing the Planning Commission) Ruby Brenne, 1935 Orchard at large member Fred Kinsman, 1266 Rio Glen at large member MINUTES--Eugene City Council Apri 1 9, 1986 Page 2 - e e Marijoy Rubaloff, 2647 Jefferson at large member Glenda Utsey, 2160 Agate at large member The motion carried unanimously, 6:0. I. Councilor Bascom's Nomination to the Eugene Budget Committee (memo distributed) Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to approve the follow- ing nomination of Councilor Bascom to the Budget Committee: Katherine Eaton, 1631 East 24th..........term to expire 12/31/88 (replacing Alan Contreras) The motion carried unanimously, 5:0. II. CITY'S ANNEXATION PROGRAM A woman in the audience asked to raise a point of order. Mayor Obie agreed to her request. She asked for confirmation that public comment on the City's annexation program would not be accepted today. Mayor Obie confirmed her statement. She asked when public comment would be received. Responding to the point of order, Planning Director Susan Brody reviewed the process for implementing the City's annexation program. She said the Budget Committee will hold public hearings on the financing of the program later this month, a public hearing will be held on the City's comprehensive fee study which is to be reviewed in May. and another public hearing will be held on changes to the City Code which will be required by changes to the City's sanitary sewer funding system. She said the annexation program responds to direction in the Metropolitan Area General Plan which had extensive public involvement before it was adopted in 1982. Mr. Gleason added that the Citizen Advisory Committee reviewed the planning process for River Road/Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan before it was adopted by the council. Mayor Obie invited Lane County Commissioner John Ball to join the councilors at the table. Mayor Obie said Commissioner Ball has been involved in many activities which affect the annexation program. Ms. Brody said the council discussed the proposed annexation program at a joint meeting with the Planning Commission. She said the councilors empha- sized the need for the staff to respond to property owners who indicate an interest in annexation, and the councilors asked for additional information about the cost of sewers and the incorporation of a new city in the River Road area. She said the Planning Commission is responding to the council's direc- tion to prepare criteria for logical service delivery boundaries for triple majority annexations. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 9, 1986 Page 3 e Jim Carlson of the Planning Department said the components of the annexation program are (1) assistance for property owner initiated annexations, (2) an urban transition package, and (3) a City information program. He said the City's annexation program does not preclude citizen-initiated annexation proposals which include a vote by River Road-Santa Clara residents. He said a tax differential program is a key element of the urban transition package, and the reasons why the status quo cannot be maintained will be stated in the information program. Mr. Carlson summarized information in a memo dated April 9, 1986, to the Mayor and City Council from the Planning Department. The memo was titled "City Annexation Program" and was attached to the council agenda. Discussing the cost of incorporation of a new city in the River Road-Santa Clara area, he said it is hard to know what level of services would be provided by a new city. In 1983, the tax rate for city services including a sanitary sewer system and capital improvements in a new city was estimated at almost $24.00 per thousand assessed valuation. That tax rate would be about three times the existing tax rate in Eugene. He said operating costs have increased about 23 percent in similar sized cities since 1983. He said existing debts which a new city would have to assume include their portion of the sewage treatment plant and the trunk sewer system. They would necessitate charges of $570 per household, but properties which are annexed will not be charged for existing debts. e Mr. Carlson displayed a graph which indicated that the cost of annexations to the City and the revenues received from annexations are incremental and eventually are about equal. He said the annexation of developed property is beneficial to the City because it increases the tax base. Development on properties within the city does not increase the tax base. e Ms. Brody said the city will receive about $50,000 in additional revenue from annexations that have occured this year. If 15 percent of the households in the River Road-Santa Clara area are connected to the sewer system in the next two years, the City will receive about $234,000 in FY88 and about $700,000 in FY89. She said that providing services to newly annexed areas involves all departments of the City. The Planning and Public Works departments will be involved at the front end in processing annexation proposals. They will present an estimate of $105,000 to the Budget Committee for start-up costs of the annexation program. She said much of the money will be spent replying to citizen requests. Responding to a request from Mayor Obie, Mr. Ball said Lane County and Eugene and Springfield have established a solid framework for the proposed annexation program. He said it is consistent with the policies in the Metro Plan which indicate that the cities will provide urban services, with the work of the Urban Services POlicy Committee which considered an informational program about annexation this morning, and with the Lane County and Eugene agreement with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) when the River Road/Santa Clara sewer grant was approved. He said the River Road/Santa Clara area has been a controversial issue for forty years, and it must be addressed now. He said County officials will want to discuss some details of the program with City officials. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 9, 1986 Page 4 e e e Mr. Holmer said properties in the River Road/Santa Clara area should be annexed because they merit a full range of urban services, but he is concerned about the response of River Road/Santa Clara residents to Eugene taking the lead, or even being a partner, in demonstrating the desirability of annexa- tion. He said it would be better if Lane County officials led the information program about the advantages of annexation. Responding to Mr. Holmer's concern, Mr. Ball said the River Road-Santa Clara area is not the only area which needs to be annexed to Eugene or Springfield to obtain urban services; consequently, Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County are cooperating and County officials have made it clear that urban services should be provided by the cities. He said the information programs should include data that people can use to time annexation efforts because timing is important. He, personally, will do what he can to assist the efforts. Answering questions from Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Brody said the information program of the Urban Services Policy Committee will dovetail with the City's program. She said the committee's work is funded for this year and it is expected to be completed by December 1986. Mr. Miller commented that people get angry because the status quo cannot go on, and they continue to be angry after properties are annexed; but the only alternatives for the River Road-Santa Clara area are annexation to Eugene or incorporation as a new city. He said the residents must consider the costs of each alternative. He said County officials could help River Road-Santa Clara residents by bringing the streets in the area up to City standards, so resi- dents will get the best deal possible with annexation. He said upgrading the streets to City standards will be an additional cost to property owners if the streets are not improved before annexation. Mr. Ball responded that street improvements are being discussed by the County Public Works staff and Mr. Gleason said it is part of the urban services transition process. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to adopt the annexation program as presented in the memo dated April 9, 1986, titled "City Annexation Program." Mr. Holmer said his vote in favor of the motion would not endorse the inten- sity of the information program and the budget implications in it. He does not think the City should advocate annexation so intensely that funds must be expended. Ms. Ehrman concurred with Mr. Holmer because, she said, City funds are needed for many things. However, she said the City has no choice but to advocate annexation and the staff efforts will emphasize responding to interest shown by River Road-Santa Clara residents. Ms. Schue said people become members of a City ward immediately upon annexa- tion and are represented by a councilor. She said the City accepted the River Road-Santa Clara sewer grant "with strings attached" and must meet the connec- tion schedule in the grant. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 9, 1986 Page 5 . . e Ms. Bascom said the information part of the annexation program will be useful and she will be available to help with it. She said the annexation program will be beneficial for the entire area. The motion carried unanimously, 5:0, with Councilors Holmer, Bascom, Schue, Ehrman, and Miller voting aye. Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting at 1 :30 p.m. Re9~ Micheal Gleason Ci ty Manager (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) 20l7C MINUTES--Eugene City Council Apri 1 9, 1986 Page 6